A matter of opinion
by Ella Inspired
Summary: Rayella VS Starlie. Warning: THIS IS A RANT FIC. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
1. Chapter 1

**Lemonade Mouth**

**A matter of opinion**

**WARNING: THIS IS A RANT FIC**

**By Ella Lavender**

This story is told in my point of view on how I came to supporting and loving the fabulous power couple, Rayella

And to tell all you people who bug me to write Starlie that no, I will not change my mind for anything so don't try.

(^^)

"Ella, hurry up the movie's starting!"

"Wait, wait, the popcorn!" I yell from the kitchen getting Randy to snort. "Forget the damn popcorn, it's _starting_!"

"You idiot, I can't leave the popcorn, I'll burn your house down!"

"Let it burn, its cold anyway," she retorts as she stomps into the kitchen and grabs me by the elbow. "Come on, I'm missing the opening credits here!"

"Then go back and watch, you'll fill me in later!"

"Hey we're watching this movie together if it kills you!"

I roll my eyes and from my position in front of the stove as the first words of the movie drifted through to the kitchen above my best friend's yelling. Well I couldn't hear it, but she could. "Ang, please!" she wailed, tugging my arm so hard I was sure it was going to come off. You'd think for a girl of barely five feet she wouldn't be so strong. I blame her three brothers.

"Alright, alright," I assent, switching off the stove where our semi-cooked movie snack sat.

Miranda, or Randy as most people tend to call her, grabbed the pot by its handles and carried it off to the living room, leaving me roll my eyes.

You may be wondering what a pair of sixteen year old girls would be so excited about watching, most of the older generation immediately thinks: It's that vampire stuff again isn't it? But no, not this time.

Well actually not at all. Randy and I were never seduced by that vampire phase, mainly because Randy's afraid of people with identiphobia…because Edward Cullen and the rest of that vampire occult are all fairies, not vampires.

Anyway.

This time it's one of those: "Oh god, its Disney," moments.

Now you automatically think: she likes Hannah Montana and High School Musical and Camp Rock and all those cliché, musical type things. Well yeah, kind of.

My best friends and I watched High School Musical together and that's how we all got to being best friends. Camp Rock only strengthened the wish that life was a musical (because the thought of having your own theme song just screams: I'm an epic legend). As for Hannah Montana…eh...I'm not a big fan of Miley Cyrus, but comedy is comedy.

The fact that I could be seen as nerdy and childish for watching Disney Channel at sixteen didn't bug me at all. And sure, my friends and I did freak a few people out when we randomly started singing songs from the top of our heads but you know what? I regret nothing.

So what, you may be asking is the new big thing with Disney?

Well after High School Musical ended and Camp Rock's sequel was a fail (at least in my eyes), this time it's the brand new original book turned movie, Lemonade Mouth.

I didn't want to watch it originally because of how much Camp Rock 2 disappointed me but as soon as I heard the song Determinate I knew it would be different.

When I heard it was a book my reluctance came back a little bit stronger.

Sure some people turned books into good movies, Harry Potter being the most popular for obvious reasons but some totally desecrated the books and danced on the remains (cough Twilight cough).

"Don't be a baby it's not like you read the book in any case," Rand, stated with a scoff once I told her, and she was right.

As an avid reader I found myself a little confused by the fact that Lemonade Mouth was a book. I practically _lived _in the bookstore and I've never even heard of Lemonade Mouth until Disney made a movie of it. However, that argument is for later.

Ahem.

Anyway.

My love for the dubbed couple Rayella began simply at their first meeting.

Like many of you who watched the movie, I just saw a jerk trying to bug the new girl. But during a quick intermission (when Randy had to use the bathroom and clicked pause on her PVR) I thought about it a little.

Most jerks would have done more than teasingly greet the new girl.

I was a new girl too, just like Stella was. Coming into a new school in the middle of the year. Yep that was me. And unfortunately for me I met a jerk too.

The jerk at my school didn't just say, "Hey new girl."

That idiot and waste of human cells pushed me and laughed when I fell down. That's a jerk ladies and gents.

And because Randy wanted to start the movie again because she thought she ruined that first movie moment, I got to see the two seconds where Ray Beech, blonde, varsity jacket wearing, Ray Beech actually stared after Stella Yamada. And he wasn't glaring or snickering like the little group he stood with, in fact I swear he was checking her out.

"Is it me or is he…"

"Yeah I know, I saw that too," Randy claimed, her brow furrowed. "Do you think he likes her?"

"They've met for like five seconds," I retorted, "he could've just been looking."

"Yeah, at her," she pushed.

I rolled my eyes. "Quit stopping the movie and press play already would ya?" Randy rolled her eyes. "This isn't over," she sang to which I picked a half cooked popcorn seed (thing…) from the pot of half-cooked popcorn and threw it at her.

As the movie progressed, I watched in curiosity as Stella took her seat in the bleachers of the new gymnasium and the two cheerleaders approached, I was surprised when Ray appeared again, ordering people to make some room and getting the two cheerleaders to sit, ending the little confrontation before Stella the spitfire came out.

"Wow, I don't think this guy's a jerk," Randy commented. "Maybe not," I replied in agreement.

"Do you think those two will get together at the end?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.

My answer turned to a, "Hopefully" as Stella's speech about her shirt began. "You can wear whatever shirt you want!" is one of the things I remember her saying as she removed her jacket and proudly showed off her Question Authority shirt with Ray trying to end her little tirade, not by doing the jerk thing and yelling louder for her to sit down and shut up, rather by talking to her to sit down before she got in trouble.

That was not a jerk thing to do.

At that point, I convinced myself that Ray wasn't too much of a jerk. I mean. I admit he is one.

Don't forget how Charlie got detention…

Ray baited everyone's favorite curly haired drummer and even kicked a ball right into his back. Being sports disabled, I know how it feels like. So I wasn't entirely surprised that Charlie got mad and then got detention.

I knew that Ray was a jerk because only jerks bully guys like that.

So yes, I admit: Ray Beech is a jerk.

Everyone has their faults, so what?

Lemonade Mouth continued after all five members of the future band got detention and so on until Stella's text about starting a revolution. Obviously that's a point where you saw a bit of WenLivia. Now whatever Stella couple you support, everyone loves WenLivia, it was a couple destined to be so if there's anyone who _doesn't_ I have nothing to say to you.

On to the rest of the movie:

Now there wasn't much interaction between Ray and Stella until they had to find a name for their band. That moment was an epic one to remember. Come on. "This Lemonade Mouth over here…" We all know Ray's a jerk, but you gotta admit, he's got a way with words. Naming a band as epic as Lemonade Mouth? He gets points for originality at least.

I'd just like to add that after Stella spat at him, Ray didn't go after her. Nope, he went straight for the rest of them.

I don't know about you, but I don't think Ray particularly hates Stella.

And for those who still think there was something in there for Starlie…I didn't see it. Other than the fact that Stella stepped in to stand up for Charlie, which I honestly would have done for a friend that was all I saw.

The next round of interaction between Stella and Charlie was when Mo decided the band wasn't going to work, right before they sang Somebody:

"They're quitters," Stella yelled in frustration a few times getting Charlie to yell back, "Shut up Stella!"

I don't recall Ray ever telling Stella to shut up during the entire movie so far and he's the jerk of the movie. I don't know if being yelled at is considered romantic but eh…

Of course my favorite thing when writing one-shots for Rayella is having them arguing and yelling so I suppose you could see that interaction as romantic…maybe…but did anyone else notice that as soon as Mo said she was done, Charlie said he was done too? Isn't that why he wanted to quit the band because Mo didn't think it was going to work?

And even when they were in detention when Miss Reznick suggested starting a band, Wen was up for it and Charlie seemed interested until Mo said she wasn't.

It was established earlier on that Charlie had a thing for Mo, so how can anyone say that there was something going on between Charlie and Stella at that point?

I'd also like to point out that that was probably the only thing the two ever said directly to one another.

Most of the interaction in the band was between Wen and Olivia and Wen and Stella, Wen being the common factor of the band even getting together, after all if he hadn't diffused the situation between Mo and Charlie quitting, and playing on the piano during detention, Lemonade Mouth would have never been.

Moving on, we've got Mudslide Crush performing in some warehouse (or something).

I'd like to focus on that part before they got to the performance where Ray was angrily lamenting the loss of a set to Lemonade Mouth for the Halloween Bash to Patty and Jules.

You could say that was also a jerk-like thing to do, but you have to remember that Ray is used to getting everything he wants and I don't think there was a band at Mesa High to rival Mudslide Crush in any case so Ray isn't used to sharing.

I'm positive that's where Ray really started having issues with Lemonade Mouth, that thing at the cafeteria was sort of a warm up but then again we can't be sure because we don't know how much time elapsed between then and the Halloween Bash.

Speaking of which, my favorite part: Determinate!

We all saw how Lemonade Mouth were anxiously waiting for Olivia to show up and then how Lyle was muttering stuff about having to rewire the stage because someone doesn't want them to perform, then the band is told that Olivia is in the bathroom and Lemonade Mouth quickly leave to find her.

Ray then appears, found to be smirking.

Obviously he could've been agitating the band further before Lyle showed up or he could've even found Olivia and made things harder for her (being so nervous that you end up sick only makes it easier for jerks to be…well jerks) but no, he went for the simpler route of unplugging everything on stage…do you hear the sarcasm in the last part? No?

Well think about it, Ray's obviously the Big Bad Bully in Mesa.

Scaring off the new band wouldn't be that hard for him (even with Stella who would surely be the only one arguing) and tormenting the nervous kitten of a front-man that was Olivia White wouldn't have been difficult either, in fact, I'd think he'd enjoy it, being a jerk and bully and all.

And yet, he did the hard part and unplugged everything.

Do you know how long it takes to unplug things from a stage?

There are a number of amps, the lights, the instruments plugged into the amps and then there are the effects such as the smoke that covered the stage a little when Lemonade Mouth performed.

Think about it. How time consuming must it be to sabotage a stage?

Okay yeah, most likely Ray got somebody else to do it for him but why would he even waste his time doing that when he could have done the easier thing and been the jerk he is?

When Lemonade Mouth finally got themselves together, Ray calls onto the stage, "Hey nice costumes, oh wait, you aren't wearing any."

Funny because he wasn't wearing one either, the closest person on that stage wearing a costume was Stella.

The rest of Lemonade Mouth, Olivia, Wen, Mo and Charlie didn't look altered one bit. They looked just as they did when they were at school, but what was Stella wearing? Well, we all remember where her lemonade was stored don't we? That awesome zebra striped belt? It was an unusual thing to wear but not as unusual as that girl walking around dressed like a toilet, but that's not the point.

In any case, the closest thing to a costume anyone in Lemonade Mouth was wearing was that belt and who wore it? Stella.

The movie continues after that with Ray watching impassively as Lemonade Mouth performs. And he doesn't interrupt. He doesn't even try and stop anyone else from enjoying it either like Jules was doing.

If he were a bigger jerk he would have got on that stage and stopped the show. And even when Stella and Wen began their revolutionary song with the slogan: Be heard, be strong, be proud; Ray wasn't the one who stopped them, Brenigan was.

The next Rayella interaction isn't until much later at Rising Star so now I'll focus on Starlie:

When Olivia doesn't come to school because of Nancy's death, everyone goes to see her. They all have their heart to heart and then they sing More than a band.

I don't understand where Starlie comes in at all other than the fact that they were lying down beside each other. But hey, Mo was lying in between Olivia and Wen, so why aren't people writing a MoOlivia or MoWen?

I love Mo as a person because I get the struggle she has going on, not being perfect enough for her father.

I know a lot of people relate to Mo. And I know some of the Ray hate comes from Ray revealing Scott cheating on Mo with Jules. I'm confused as to why.

"I can't believe he did that!" Randy practically shouted, I found myself nodding, "Yeah, how can Scott do that to Mo?"

I mean, I'd want to know if my boyfriend was cheating on me. Sure I'd be upset, but I wouldn't hate the person who showed me how much of an asshole he was. I'd actually be thankful for it. So to all the people who use that excuse to hate Ray, go play in traffic.

Moving on until they get arrested for attacking those delivery guys who were taking away the Lemonade machine: no Starlie there either. Everyone jumped to help Stella. That's just how it was, because they were all friends.

And then in the holding cell: nope, still more Lemonade Mouth friendship going on.

And then after: Nooo, they're having some family reconciliation time so there's no romance there.

And surprisingly we're at the end of the Starlie interaction because now we're onto the performance at Rising Star:

As Mudslide Crush exits the stage, Ray has his little word with Stella. I don't remember what they said because Randy was squealing about them smiling…which they were, Randy paused it to show me.

And yes, it looked like a smile from the both of them.

There was a challenging look in Stella's eyes and in Ray's too. If you have the Lemonade Mouth DVD, I suggest you go this part and pause it just before Stella gets on stage and just as Ray finishes talking. You'll see that smile just like Randy and I did, and then you can tell me there's no such thing as Rayella in the film.

We could go into their performance at Madison or we could go into the bonus scene in the Moxie interview, but you won't find anything.

No there's no Rayella there but there's also no Starlie, there's only Wenlivia.

But that's okay because I've seen enough of the movie to know that Rayella was at least hinted.

If you still aren't convinced let me tally it up for you:

Ray was totally checking Stella out when they first met: one point

Ray stopped Stella from getting into a fight with Patty and Jules during assembly: one point

Ray told Stella to sit down during her little shirt speech: one point

Ray didn't get mad at Stella for spitting lemonade at him: one point

Ray has also never yelled at Stella during the movie: one point

So for Rayella, that would be five points.

For Starlie…

Other than lying down next to each other during More than a band: one point.

I'd also like to say that in the book Charlie did end up with Mo, so I'm not sure why that didn't happen in the movie. In any case, I don't think Charlie and Stella would ever get together. It's not that I don't like Charlie. I love him. He's the cutest guy in that movie. I was completely crushing over him after we finished watching Lemonade Mouth. But I don't see where the connection is for Starlie.

I get being best friends. Which can happen for Ray and Stella too considering their personalities. But that's all I get.

I don't see Starlie ever being a couple while for Rayella there were at least those five instances for it to happen. I'm not saying that Ray is the only guy for Stella; I'm just saying that at least you could picture something happening between the two.

This is my opinion on Rayella VS Starlie, it's just an opinion and if you don't agree with it it's completely fine, in fact, I'd appreciate some insight from the Starlie fans as to where the idea for the couple came along.

And a pair of people who look cute together isn't an argument, just sayin'.

**FINIS RANT**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lemonade Mouth**

**Part two**

**By Ella Lavender**

**ANOTHER RANT**

**YOU WERE WARNED**

(^^)

So someone has finally offered something in defense of Starlie:

They're best friends

They're in the same group

They have matching personalities or personalities that complement

Okay, I'll break the first one to you:

They aren't. Period.

In no point in the movie (though I'm not entirely sure about the book) did Stella or Charlie communicate anymore than the rest of the band did, nor did they seem to show any personal preference to the other…if you count lying down a few times and posing beside each other on the CD then I should hit you. But that would be wrong. I'm not allowed to hit people anymore.

Besides, if anyone in the group could be considered best friends it would be Wen and Olivia and even Wen and Stella; at one point I preferred Wen and Stella together but that passed when I saw the looks Wen and Olivia were having…dreamy sigh.

Now for number two:

Some people admitted to pairing Charlie and Stella up because it just seemed fair that they should.

Olivia and Wen were 'sort of kind of maybe' together while Mo was with Scott. Why shouldn't people pair off the last remaining people in the band?

This is just an opinion, but I don't think it's fair on Stella.

How would anyone feel being someone else's second option because they couldn't get their first choice? Yes, maybe Charlie accepted Mo and Scott together, but you can't tell me that you can easily redirect your feelings to one person after another has rejected you. I don't believe in rebounds. And that's how I feel about that excuse.

Yes I admit that it would be easier to fall for someone in the same group as you because it's easy unlike Stella and Ray who are on opposing groups and on different sides of the social spectrum. But that's the challenge in being a writer, you get to be creative.

The third, I can credit. It has merit.

Yes they would complement each other's personalities, with Charlie being laid-back and Stella being a stand-up-and-fight kind of girl. That's one I can credit. I have nothing to say that would change that.

But I still do have an issue with Charlie picking Stella because he couldn't get Mo.

Of course I'd never think so badly of our favorite drummer, but wasn't that what he did with Victoria? Okay, that's one for speculation, we don't exactly know how Victoria and Charlie got together but that was what I got when I saw them together. They make a cute couple, so no one should really argue I mean…isn't that the excuse the Starlies use?

I know there is lack of evidence in the two ever getting together, but some like the pairing because the stories people write of them as a pairing are good.

**NEWSFLASH PEOPLE!**

Authors wrote those stories. It's a talent. It's a gift. As a writer you can manipulate emotions and give birth to different ways of thinking. They're good at convincing you to like a pairing or believe something as crazy as Male-Pregnancy stories (if you don't know what that is, I'm not willing to explain it…that's what Google is for), it's part of their ability as a writer to make you believe exactly what they want you to.

I should know after all. Getting comments like: "That story made me cry" or "That part made me laugh so hard!" or even "I could see them saying that", prove what a writer is capable of.

Someone also asked me to just take a shot and like Starlie.

It isn't happening.

I'm a one-pairing type of person (with the exception of Harmony and Dramione in Harry Potter), I don't know what they call it, but that's me. I don't write for pairings I do not support or ship. It isn't me.

I am pure Rayella.

If you have the nerve to shove Starlie stories down my throat (seriously, stuffing my PM box with 'amazing Starlie stories that will get you hooked' does not impress me) at least have the nerve to try Rayella too. I'm sure those Starlie stories are good, but I'll credit the writer not the pairing for that.

I swear, if one more person PMs me or leaves me rude reviews on my Rayella stories about how Rayella sucks and I'm wasting my talent writing for such a lame pairing, I will come after you with a wooden spoon and gut you like a fish!

As for simply writing Starlie to please the people who've sent me requests to do so, I have one thing to say: I don't wake up in the morning to please anyone. Don't expect to be an exception.

Then some of you ask: Was I trying to convert Starlies into Rayellas?

No I was not. If I was, I'd have categorized this rant as a Stella story so I could get all opinions on Stella based pairings (StellaMo, StellaScott, StellaWen, StellaLyle, StellaOlivia and so on) but I didn't because this rant was in support of Rayella.

This rant was to get all those Starlie shippers to leave me alone about writing their pairing because it annoys me to open my inbox and find a dozen Starlie stories 'I should read because they're better than Rayella". So for the final time: I won't. So please don't waste my time and yours.

I respect all shipping.

But that doesn't mean I have to read or write any of it.

**FINIS RANT**

As for someone's comment about Ray's not-so-noble intention of revealing Scott to Mo, I was aware of that actually. His reason for showing Scott as a cheating scumbag wasn't for the best of intentions but he did it nonetheless, his reason was questionable but I would've preferred knowing about something like that rather than being ignorant about it.

Like I said, Ray is a jerk but sometimes his jerk-tendencies can have good outcomes.

Though quite honestly, I would've preferred it if Mo and Scott never got back together, but again, that's just an opinion.


End file.
